showtime. comedi stephen colbe appears before congress testifying at a hearing on immigration. >> this is america. i don't want a tomato picked by a mexican. >> did his tongue-in-cheek performance mock congress or send an important message? out of control. a florida mom arrest and charged with child abuse after egging on her teenage daughter's catfight. and it was all caught on tape. and bailed out. lindsay lohan free this morning just hours after a judge ordered her back to jail. we'll have the latest episode for the troubled young actress. day is saturday, september 25, for the troubled young actress. day is saturday, september 25, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television goomorning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a saturday. i'm lester holt. >> i'm amy robach. a lot of people may have thought

they were watchg "the colbert report." actually, no, it was a real subcommittee hearing in congress. >> i have to tell you. i didn't know whether to laugh out loud or cringe bause it was awkward at times. colbert not the first celebrity to testify before congress, but nobody had seen anything like this before. >> that's right. democrats brought in the comedian to a hearing friday to help make the case for a bill to create a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants, but not everyone thought it was funny. >> many people think it is always political theater. mothers are to be cheerleaders for their kids, but this was the scene in florida as two 16-year-old girls fought it out over a boy and one of the moms was on the sidelis cheering her daughter on. that landed her in jail on a charge of child abuse. we're going to have details coming up. plus an azing medical story. four years ago dr. richard edward lost the use of his hands

in a brush fire. now he has a new set of hands after jt the third double hand transplant in the united states. we will meet ricrd edwards and find out how he's doingn a few minutes. >> remarkable story. and live from new york it's "saturday night." 36 seasons. that's amazing. we h a chance to meet with the cast members about the new season. we'll tell you what to expect coming up. >> i left the studio yesterday morning. there was a line of people camping out trying to get into the show. >> they're out there now trying to pick up tickets. first, with the mid-term elections around the corner a look back at t week in politics beginning with political theater. savannah guthrie reports. >> reporter: on capitol hill friday, morevidence of why some americans thinkashington is a joke. the comedian stephen colbert was billed as an expert witness on farm labor and testified in character. >> congresswoman loffgrin asked

me to use my vast experience as a migrant farm worker. i'm happy to draw attention to this issue and i hope my star power can bump this hearing all the way up to c-span 1. >> reporter: one congressman asked him to leave. >>ou run your show. we run the committee. but what do you say to that, stephen? >> reporter: but the testimony went on for several uncomfortable minutes, though not every member gave him undivided attention. >> this is america. i don't want a tomato picked by a mexican. i want it picked by an ameran, then sliced by a guatemalan and served in a spa where a chilean gives me a brazilian. >> reporter: house speaker nancy pelosi saw no oblem. >> he's an american. if he has a point of view he can bring attention to an important issue like immigration.

>> reporter: republicans said lbert mocked the process. >> if you don't kno they were illegal there may have been legal workers there. is that correct? >> i have no idea. >> reporter: privately some woied the spectacle would fan the flames of voter disgust at a time when the electorate is on edge. >> whaver the spanish word for mano is. >> reporter: on thursday night what should have been a candidate debate turned into fight night i vegas as audience members bre into a scuffle tradinging punches while the senate candidates sharon engel and harry reid were booed and heckled. just the latest sign of america, the angry. >> be back here at 5:00. >> reporter: the president, even among supporters wednesday night in new york was repeatedly interrupted by hecklers. >> we listen to you. we heard your point. >> reporter: at a town hall this weeke got something of a talking to. >> quite frankly, i'm exhausted of defending you, defending your

administration, dending the change i voted for. >> some people are angry. some people are scared because of the economic conditions. some peoplere disillusioned who invested hope president obama. some people are turned off in the way that they don't believe any party is going to make a difference. >> reporter: for "toda savannah guthrie nbc news, new york. >> for more we turn to john harwood, chieforrespondent for cnbc. you can't make ts stuff up. i don't know where to start. let's start with the anger out there. are people just ang in general and does thatot make this election somewhat unpredictable? >> well, it does. we have had a volatile season all year lo, but so much of it stems from the economy. when you've got nearly 10% of the american people out of work, 15 million americans looking for jobsthat is a recipe for frustration, for loong at washington and saying, you're not solvinging my problems, you're not making my life

better. is the life of my kids going to be better than mine? people are pessimistic about the economy. that's a rough thing for incumbents to endure. you hosted the town hall this week witthe president. we heard a little bit, but there was more than one person who stood up and said supporter of the presidt who express some disappointment that heasn't taken us where they thought he would take us by now. the president was smilinging during that, we should note. how much do you think this really struck a sho across the white house? >> well, it was a shot at the president. he absorbed those blows, but think president clinton may be onto something when he told politico that this was a good thing for the president. every president in the white house has the risk of beinging in the bubble and not seeming to appreciate the pain people are feeling in economic hard times by beinging o in public, hearint face to face. the president may be sending the

message that he's listening. we'll see if it does any good. the challenge is to connect with voters, make them understand he knows what they are going through and is workingn it. >> we showed stephecolbert testifying before a congressional hearing yesterday. i didn't know whether to cringe or laugh. i think members of congress felt the same. give me your take on what happened yesterday. >> well, it was all cringing for me. i thought that was one of the dumbest stunts i have ever seen in congress, making a mockery of a congressional hearing. i understand the reason why which is they thought stephen colbert, as he said, has some star power to bring attention to an issue that isn't gettingi i g atteion. but if you think the attention was on immigration that was a terrible miscalculation. it was more aut the theater, the comedy and, asavannah indicated in her piece, it deened the sense among

americans, i suspect that congress is a joke. you look at congress's approval ratings. they are 15, 20, 25%. i don't think this is what they needed. >> john harwood, thank you very much. here's amy. lester, thank you. now to the economy. still a long way to go before the economy can be called healthy again. wall street, at least, has been on roll for the last month. for more we're joined by cnbc's brian shackman. >> hi, amy. >> this is not a good mth for the stock markets but that hasn't been true this year, why? >> we are looking at the best september in more than 70 years. it's hard to package good explanations for this. i could say, you know, it went up because everybody thought it s goi to go down. if you want an explanation of why this happened, we got a lot of information about the economy that said we might have slowed down, but we are not going into another recession. >> the federal reserve made money cheap. how has that affected the

market? >> for you, me andhe folks at home if they wanto refinance and get credit interest rates will be low and they will save money. we don't feel richer but i the global economy there is money all over the place. >> does a higher stock market affect spending habits because people may feel confident, the 401-k may go up. >> people look at it and it has more than they thought and maybe they will buy the coffee. maybe i will take my kids out for eakfast. that's the case. compound it over 300 million people and it can make a difference. the wealth effect. >> we just saw savannah's piece about the world in politics. it was a crazy week. how does that affect the economy? >> so many investors and analystsre waiting f elections. there is a consensus that if punls come in and get more power there will be a check and balance. maybe that's good. less government spending. there is a sense that there is optimism about a balance

politically in d.c. >> i want to talk about gold. it hit an all-time high. >> did you invest? >> unfortunately i didn't. $1300. >> amazing. we talked about the cash across the world. it has to find a home. if you don't want the stock market they are going into everything we have gold at $1300. silver is at 30-year highs. this is fascinating and i want to get this in. paper money has value if we believe it has value. if we don't have faith in it then it doesn't have value. with the concern over government debt and the value of dollars, people want something they think has intrinsic value. people move to gold because they ink it has value no matte what. >> very interesting. thank you so much. now here's lester. for the troubled schools of newark, new jersey, one man is giving new meaning to "facebook friend." mark zuckerberg is giving

schools $100million. here's more. >> the founder of facebook. come on out here. [ applause ] >> reporter: the official announcent came on one of tv's biggest stages, "the oprah winfrey show". >> the first pject will be a $100 million grant. >> reporter: mark zuckerberg announced grant to help newark's schools. the shy billionaire wanted to make an anonymous gift but was convinced to change his mind. >> err child deserves a good education. that's not happening. >> reporter: new jersey's governor and newark's mayor joined forces to make a bold agreement on how to use the funds. the governor will turn over some control of newark's state-run schools to the mayor who scored a coup in getting zuckerberg's donation. >> it's about the children. >> reporter: some details include setting up a $100 million education foundaon.

newark must raise $100 milli in matching funds. the city must also raise another $50 million to serve disadvantad kids. in newark, 150 teachers at the kip spark academy have high hopefor the project. >> i am so excited aut what it could mean for the children and the families. >> reporter: in a city where 45% of the students do not graduate from high school, education experts say newark is now taking on another enormous challenge. >> if they fail, every foundation, every mayor and governor will look at this as proof of why this will never work and it may never happen agai >> reporter: but the governor, the mayor and t philanthrist say they areetermined to make newark aodel for success. we wanto let you know nbc news will ve a special week-long series looking at the state of america's schools. we call it "education nation."

rockefelleplaza is being transformed as we speak. there will be interactive exhibits you canake part in here and at home. we'll tak you outside and show you more of the exhibits and what we have planned. >> all right. now over to the news desk where tamron hall has more for us this morning. >> good morning. we begin with developing news in sweden where a bomb threat forced a passenger jet to make an emergency landing. a sppakistani flight was divert to stockholm after a woman said someone on the plane had explosives.

good saturday morning. i'm "news4 today" meteorologist chuck bell. sunshine coming through. otherwise partly cloudy sky. temperatures are already in the

mid-70s around town. 74 degrees down at andrs air force base. 74 in annapolis. 75 in washington. 74 in hagerstown. couple of lone some sprinkles out in the west virginia mountains. we should be rain free in washington today with a high up to 90 degrees today. much cooler tomorrow. rain for m that's your saturday forecast. lester? bill, thanks. still to come on "today," caught on tape. two girls fighting it out. why one mom was arrested. first this is "today" on nbc. right here in this neighborhood, i grew up arning strong families and hard work means opportunity. and that starts with good schools. it's a tradition here in maryland-- and why in these tough times i've put education first. we've made record investments in our classrooms... doubled the number of charter schools... and we've fren college tuition for four years in a row. and it's working. experts say we now he the number one schools in the nation. when it comes to expanding opportunity in every neighborhood, i know that we must do even betr.

four years ago, bob ehrlich got fired as governor of maryland. for good reason. first, he protected tax loopholes for giant cable cable coanies. then, he let utilities jack up our rates 72%. d for the last four years, he worked as a hired gun for big corporations, even a bank that took billions fr a taxpayer funded bailout. ehrlich sides with corporate executives again and again and again tell bob ehrlich big banks and billionares don't need help. middle cde do. fighting is cerinly not uncommon among teenagers, but in florida a fight between two teenaged girls caught on tape took on a whole new dimension. kerry sanders has more. >> go for the head shot! >> reporter: as far as after school fights go, this one was a

doozy. [ cheers ] >> reporter: in vacant field in palmetto, florida, two teenage girls taking each other on, cheered on by dozens of classmates and by one other who police say should have known better. the mother of one of the fight girls, 39-year-old april newcomb. [ cheers ] >> reporter: a deputy writes in the report that april newcb actively encouraged her daughter to physically fight. investigators have three videos of the event. this one was posted on youtube. in one video the deputy writes, it shows apr walking toward her daughter as she jumps around preparing herself for the fight. the deputy concludes that apr never stopped the fight, rather she encouraged it. in the report, the deputy si say it is mother told him she showed up to the fight to make sure nothing got out of hand and to make sure her daughter did not get hurt. investigators say newcomb said she was there because her daughter sustained a skull

fracture from a previous incident and aprilnew she was going to fight and wanted to make sure her daughter's nemesis did not hit her in the back of the head. >> get up! let's go! >> reporter: as the five-minute fight ensued apr newcomb never called 9-1-1 and never even tried to stop the brawl. and that was a mistake. manatee county, florida, deputies say by not taking an active role and instead letting two 16-year-olds go at each other april newcomb committed a cre. she's now charged with child abuse. >> she is encouraging her daughter in this fight and, again, doing absolutely nothing to stop it. >> reporter: psychologt jeff gardier. >> if a parent is saying, go ahead and fight. you can go ahead and do this ing. in some ways the kids don't want to l their parents down. >> reporter: under questioning, police say april newcomb admitted, of course we'rboth wrong and i understand that.

i understd where y all are coming from. investigators say the teens could still face disciplinary actions. for "today," kerry nders, nbc news, ft. lauderdale. nbc news reached out to april newcomb for comment. we did notear back. we're back after these messages.

still to come, a medical milestone. we meet the man who received a rare double hand transplant. plus, "snl" is back. what can you expect from the 36th season? we're going to find out. first, these messages. belongs . o...um...thank you. excuse me... this is yours... ank you! you're welcome.

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one more sunny warm day across the district and then the bottom fall out. we'll have the forecast four in a second. first, good morning 8:27 on this saturday morning. i'm aaron gilchrist. topping news for today police in prince george's county maryland investigati a shooting that sent three people to the hospital. it happened overnight in the 5,500 block of livingston terrace in oxon hill. detectives have not released the condition of the victims or if they have any suspects in custod >> the drug enforcement agenc wants to curb ricks drug abuse with ricks drug take back day. 3400 low occasions nationwide. visit our websi nbcwashington.com and search dea. your weather forecast coming up next. stay with us.

good saturday morning, everybody i'm "news4 today" meteorologist chuck bell. we had a couple of lone some showers up in the mountains of west virginia. they are falling apart as they come eastbound. partly sunny. quite warm. highs up close to 90 degrees today. much cooler tomorrow with rain ariving after sundown. tomorrow's highs in the low 70

we are back on this saturday morning, the 25th dayf september, 2010. a big thanks to everyone who came out to the plaza to join us this morning. and speaking of the plaza, check it out. we're gettinging ina new look event education nation. i'm amy robach. we'll be signing apotlig on education in america. 'll focus onstudents, educators and how you can help here and at home. >> starts tomorrow. we'll give you a complete tour. am i in your way? they didn't want me blocking their way earlier. i want to make sure. coming up, we'll tell you about lindsay lohan. she tweeted a week ago she failed a drug test. the judge sent her to jail and she was let out on $300,000 bail overnight. and a truly remarkable story we have been anticipating this morning. we'll meet a man who received a double hand transplant.

it's only the thi time the operation has been performed in the united states. we have the patient and his doctor live with us this morning. we are going to be speaking with themn a few minutes, find out how he's doing. >> one of the things we look forward to around 30 rock is the return of "saturday night live." our friends a back in the building preparing the season premiere tonight. you got a look behind the scenes. we'll find out what ty have in store for the next season. >> amy poehler will be the guest host and the line is wrapped around the plaza. it should be a fun ght. before that, one more check on the weather with bill cairns out on the plaza with us. bill? >> warm and beautiful. we have princesses here for the good morning. i'm "news4 today"ing meteorologist chuck bell. temperature in the mid-70s understand a partly cloudy sky. 75 at ronald reagan washington national airport.

75 at andrews air force base. 74 in annapolis and shady side. 74 cease in leardtown, maryland. sprinkles in the mountains. we should stay dry in washington. another warm one, high up near 90 degrees today. highs in the low 70s tomorrow. rain r monday. and, no, this isn't a skit. these guys are marching in the parade and have the nice horns they have been playing this morning, too. back to you. >> we wondered when they walked on the plaza. up next, lindsay lohan, we'lhave the latest on her. first, these messages. i do a lot of different kinds of exercise, but basically, i'm a runner. last yr. (oof). i had a bum knee that needed surgery. but it got complicated, because i had an old injury. so i wand a doctor who had done this before. and unitedhealthcare's database helped me find a surgeon. you know you can't have great legs, if you don't have good knees. we're 78,000eople looking out for 70 million americans.

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i'm gonna be here until we make this right. as a mom i believe books brighten a child's future. so join the sunnyd book spree. when your child's class collects 20 labels... they get 20 free books! go to sunnyd.com and help us make classrooms sunnier. the isturizer in other body washes sits on top of skin. only dove has nutriummoisture, which can nourish deep dow dove body wash with nutriummoisture. superior natural nourishment for your skin. i'm a mortga banker at quicken loans. mike and michiyo were looking to purchase a larger home o accommodate their family. matt was a star from start to end. he tk care of us. he'll take care of you. we always like to follow up with clients and make sure that they know we're tracking their loan for th, and if there's something that makes more sense for them, we can present at as an option. the surprise was that there were no surprises. th have great technology, but they have people like matt. that's what makes the difference. it's an opportunity to help clients achieve the american dream. that's why i love quicken loans!

♪ thatmy friends at work thinkans! there's mo than one "me." ...because on our trips, i always get there faster. see, expedia lets me mix and match airlines. so i can take one airline out... and another home. so with more flight options, i can find the combination that gets me there and back quickest. with a little help from expedia, my friends will think i can be everywhere at once. where you book matters. expedia. you know, not even hollywood could have come up with the script. on friday lindsay lohan was

ordered to jail without bail for a month. but hours later, she was a free woman again. kristen welker joins us from outside lohan's home near hollywood. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. lindsay han arrived here at her west hollywood apartment at about 12:30 this morning thanks to her attorney, a superior court judge, and a lot of money. lindsay lohan released from jail just hours after a judge ordered her back inside without bail. the troubled actress first reported to court friday morning, dssed to the nines for another probation violation, this time she tested positive for drugs just weeks after she was released from rehab. before the hearing started, lohan was all smiles. but all that changed when ten minutes after the hearing started, judge fox ordered her to be handcuffed and taken into custody for nearly a month without bail. lohan showed little emotion, but dad michael didn't hold anything back. >> jail is not good for anyone.

i have been there. it doesn'trehabilitate. >> reporter: no sooner had loh arrived at jail than her lawyer started working on getting her out. hours later a judge overturned the decision. according to court documen the second judge ruled defendants charged with misdemeanors are entitled as a matter of right which was set at $300,000. there are stimulations. lohan has to wear an alcohol monitoring bracelet like this one she showed off in a photo shoot. and has to refrain from controlled substances. legal experts say judge fox was trying to prove a point. >>s far as what he was giving a message to lindsay lohan, it was, "you better stop doing this because otherwise you're going to keep going bk and forth to jail and i'm going to be here waiting for you every time you screw up." >> reporter: this was lohan's third and shortest stint in jail. this sumr she served 14 days and 23 days in rehab stemming

from a prior dui violation. medical experts say she has a lot of work to do to rehabilitate herself. >> it should be a solid decision made by her treatment team to know how this relapse happen. >> reporter: hollywood insiders say amazingly her star may not be tarnished by any of this. >> after being in jail again, lindsayrobably will still have a career. hollywood is very forgiving. >> reporter: now lindsay lohan's legal troubles are far from finished. she'll be back in court on octor 22 for a probation violation hearing where a judge could decide to send her back to jail or back to rehab. amy? >> all right, kristen welker, thank you. i think a lot of people are seeing she's in, out and think this is star treatment. you say actually the second j g judge wa following the law. >> people think if it had been anyone else but lindsay lohan

they would be serving time. the reality is this a misdploomi misdemeanor and bail is not to be used to punish someone. you are not supposed to hold someone without bai as a way to say this is toell you you did it wrong. you're supposed to hold someone without bail to make sure they show up in court for their actual senncinging hear i inheae 22nd. i know no one wants to hear this, but i think the second judge did the right thing by saying she's entitled legally to bail under california law. >> october 22 is her sentencing hearing. what can we expect? will she go in front of the same judge who clearly wants to throw the book at her? >> she'll beack in court and will likely get, i think, a 30-day sentence. why? she had been previously promised that if she violated her probation she'd get 30 days on each and every one of the probation violations. this is a single violation of

probation. >> she failed a drug test. >> exactly. she'll probably get the 30 days. does that mean 30 days? the answer is no, it doesn't. but, again, that' the same sentence anyone else would get. when people say, she had a 30-day sentence and she may get out after six or seven days because she's lindsay lohan,no. >> what about rehab? that was cut short as well because they said she was fine. >> that's a good question. rehab is the place where they actually could keeper longer because they could say they don't believe that as a medical matter she should be released meaning the difference between serving a jai sentence and a rehab sentence is that the jail sentence, you've got to stick to what everyone else is gettinging. meaning if there is overcrowding in the jails then everyone else gets one-quarter of the time, she should get one-quarter of the time. with rehab it's a question of how she's doing medically. if she hasn't overcome this she

may have to serve a longer time here. everyone can rest assured that she' not getting star treatment. she is acting like a star and she's acting ridiculous. but that doesn't mean the punishment she's getting isn't exactly in line wh what anyone else would get. >> dan, thank you very much. we appreciate it. still to come, the man who received a double hand transplant. we'll meet him live. first, these messages. let's throw down some style. style that lasts a lifetime. what do you say we get the look we want, the softness weeed, and an unbeatable lifetime stain warranty for whatever life throws at it. then let's save big on the installation. ♪ we're lowering the ct of going barefoot. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. get exclusive martha stewart living and platinum plus installed in your whole house for only 37 bucks. a touch of that... yup, there's a new head chef in the kitchen.

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doctors are calling it a medical breakthrough. dr. richard edwards relied on his hands as a chiropractor in oklahoma, but that changed when his truck caught fire damaging both hands. last year in an operation done twice before in this country dr. edwards receivedwo new hands and a new lease on life. >> reporter: it took a team of 20 surgeons over 17 hours to perform the complicated and rare procedure -- a double hand transplant. family members waited anxiously throughout the night for updates, posted on twitter from inside the operating room. just two days later with a first look at his new hands dr. edwards did what was impossible days before. he moved his fingers. >> oh, i'm a blessed man! >> pull the index finger down. that's strong. pull that down. that's strong. >> reporter: an ability that

impressed even his doctors. >> look at that. >> reporter: now with each new movement edwards has more hope for the future. >> i love to hold my wife's hand and feel her skin and i want to do that again. >> we are happy to be joined now by dr. richard edwards and dr. warren brydon from louisville, kentucky. good morning to both of you. thanks for being with us >> good morning. >> good morning. >> dr. edwards, give me a sense. i know that the recovery of the hands has been uneven. one is doing better than the other. how are you feeling and what kind of sensation do you have in the hands? >> oh, i feel fantastic. the type of sensation i have in the hands, incredible ability to move my hands, iny mind, at this point in time. but a loss of sensation. i don't have any fine touch yet.

but my motor control, motor skills at this point in time just blow me away. i'm just awed. >> i'm watching you bend your fingers. you were able to do that just a couple of days in. can you pick things up as well? >> yeah. as a matter of fact, the other day whe i was in therapy, something dropped onto the floor and i bent over and without thinking, i picked it up. i picked it up with my fore fing and thumb and handed it to my therapist. she looked a me with a smile and said, i can't believe that. reached behind her and grabbed something off the shelf and set it in front of me and said, can you paycheck thick that up? i picked it up. >> you were able to make clean cu with the tendons and make the attachment. you must have been blown away when you see him clenching a

fist. >> we were pleased because it confirmed what we anticipated would take place. as you have id, that's what makes is unique. this is the first time we had a patient who had his hands that were burned and nonfunctional. so when we removed the nonfunctional hand we were able to save healthy tendons which we could ho up to the donor hand. all other patients that we have done here and elsewhere in the world, the tendons were all damaged on the recipient's part because there had been bomb blasts or industrial accidents that ripped everything off. so the reason you are seeing good motion here is because of that. >> now, what is the prognosis and recovery? i know there was controversy because there is the risk of rejection and a bad body response, if you will. so what's the prognosis?

>> well, at this point, his prognosis is very good on this hand. as you know, we have had troubles on the other side where we had to go back to the operatinging roo room. as long as we get out of the critical phase and we are out of it on this sidend close to ou of it on the other side, the prognosis is we should be able to get out a number of years. there is a patient in austria who is ten years. our first patient here is 11 and a half years out. so the prognosis gets better with each day. >> it's a great story. dr. richard edwards, congratulations. dr. warren brightenback, thank you very much for talking about this. good to have you both here. up next, live from new york it's saturday night -- almost. first this is "today" on nbc.

live from new york it's

almost saturday night. the venerable comedy show kicked off its 36th season here on nbc. coming off a big success of betty white's award-winninging tu turn as host can they keep up the momentum. >> hi. i'm amy poehler hosting "saturday night live" this week with katy perry. >> who was "i kissed a girl about". >> i think we know. and you more than led it. you loved it. >> that wa a long time ago. >> studio 8-h was charged with energy. >> now i'm nervous. >> snl alum and "parks & recreation" star amy poehler said she's beyond excited to be back. >> she's so talented. she can do the show by herself. i can just relax. >> the show returns on the heels of betty white's emmy-award-winning stint as host by popular demand. >> i can't believe i'm hosting

"saturday night live." >> it was a feel-good experience for everyone. it will be hard to match. >> do you think we'll ever catch this guy? like my underwear -- depends. >> at rehearsal thursday they were working on new material to ke the upswing going. >> rope off on area of the house and stay there. >> there are a will tlot of new writers. it's exciting. it's n blood. i don't mean that literally that there is new blood. >> new writers and four new cast members including stand-up comedian jay farrow whose barack obama impressionas been making the rounds on youte. >> hey, you, over there. i want to talk to you. >> musical guest katy perry made headlines when "sesame street" decided not to air a duet with

elmo after parents complained her outfit was too revealing. >> it doesn't matter who's done what to a puppet. >> tag, you're it! >> notagain! >> maybe this will be the season i will go. i have never been in the studio audience. >> it is something to see. you ould go. >> i'm openly shilling for tickets to snl. >> the season premiere is tonight at 11:30 here on nbc. we are back, but first, these messages. we're part of nature, and as we destroy nature, we destroy ourselves. it's a selfish thing to want to protect nature. i never intended to be a businessman. we made the world' best climbing equipment out of here. we realized that putting in and taking out of all these pitons was causing damage to the rock. so, i made these lite soft aluminum chalks that you just put in with your fingers. and i'm a dam buster. we've been working for years to take this dam out.

the reservoir behind it is only 4 feet deep-- the water gets real warm, kills a lot of the life in the river. when you take out a dam, that's a real victory. i mean, a concrete victory so to speak! when i get an idea to do something, i like to take the first step. if that feels good, i take another step. to do good, you actually have to do something. no matter what you want to do, members project from american express can help you take the first step. vote, volunteer or donate at membersproject.com.

that's going to do it for us on this saturday. our thanks to bill cairns and tamron hall. coming up this week we kick off education nation. >> with an in-depth conversation about improving education in this country. we'll see you then. have a great saturda we'll see you then. have a great saturda so long. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

good morning. i'm aaron gilchrist. >> i'm kimberly suiters. straight ahead on "news4 today", police trying tofigure out who shot three people in oxon hill. the shots rang out in an apartment complex in the 5,500 of livingston terre. not clear who the victims are or what their conditions are. police are investigating a string of 60 robberies in fairfax county. all committed by one peon. why authorities are now worried about what the burglar took from one of those homes. as people prepare to pay their final respects to a student killed last month, police have arrested and charged the man's killer. i'm meteorologist chuck bell. i have a complete check of your weekend forecast. it's saturday and that means college football forecast as well. all that and more when you join us for "news4 today" less than two minutes. we'll see you then.